By Gopal Sharma, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Ethan Wang and Liz Lee
KATHMANDU/BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Rescue teams raced on Wednesday to reach dozens of workers believed to be trapped inside hydropower tunnels in Nepal’s mountains, offering one of the last hopes of finding survivors a week after a Himalayan flood killed more than 1,100 people.
The flood, triggered by the collapse of a glacier near Nepal’s border with China, devastated towns and valleys across the mountainous region. At least 1,114 people have been confirmed dead and nearly 4,000 remain missing.
Rescue efforts have increasingly centred on hydroelectric project tunnels where authorities believe workers may have survived after being cut off by floodwaters and debris.
Some tunnels contain chambers with air supplies, and rescuers were trying to reach more than 600 missing workers.
“We are very confident that there is life in there because … there is food and water in the building, that was likely built for communication purposes and as a resting place,” Amshu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, told Reuters.
The chance of finding survivors elsewhere was fading, authorities said, but there was no let up in rescue operations as teams scoured the mountainside along the border with China where floods tore through towns and valleys.
“The hope of finding survivors is decreasing,” said Phanindra Paudel, a senior official at Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Center. “We pray and are hopeful. Hope is hope!”
Prime Minister Balendra Shah told parliament the search would continue.
“Our priority remains clear: To continue our search and rescue operations, find those who are still missing and continue supporting everyone affected,” he said.
HOPING TO FIND SURVIVORS INSIDE TUNNELS
Major rescue operations were under way or planned at four hydropower projects. Two sites, where about 90 people are missing, offered the strongest prospect of finding survivors because of the presence of air inside the tunnels, Shahi said.
At Trishuli-3A, officials believe there was a dry chamber inside and expected oxygen to be flowing through the tunnel, with pipes also being used to push oxygen inside, Shahi said.
Specialised rescue teams from India, China and the United States were involved in the tunnel rescue attempts.
Across the border in Tibet, China raised its death toll to 21, with 541 others still listed as missing.
The update came after Beijing fully reopened the road leading to the Gyirong border crossing into Nepal on Wednesday, allowing heavy machinery to reach the core disaster zone for the first time.
TIBET DISASTER ZONE BECOMES ACCESSIBLE
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed excavators, rescue teams, search dogs and life-detection equipment being deployed in a narrow mountain gorge where rain, unstable cliffs and a fast-flowing river have hampered operations.
China’s official toll of those missing includes 104 Indians, 49 Nepali citizens as well as 33 Latvians who are believed to be part of two tourist groups. Most Indians were part of groups visiting Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash in Tibet, holy pilgrimage sites for Hindus.
Beijing will send more DNA identification experts and emergency supplies including Bailey bridges, mortuary refrigerators and communications equipment to Nepal to help with the relief efforts, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED FEARFUL, ANXIOUS
In Nepal, residents walked around the remains of what were once bustling villages and towns, trying to salvage whatever they could of their belongings.
“My husband and I were able to escape safely. But we could not pick up anything,” said Shanta Sunar, 45, a shopkeeper from Nuwakot. “We have lost whatever we had. But we are lucky nothing happened to us.”
Children in Nuwakot and Rasuwa areas are increasingly showing signs of psychological distress after witnessing the torrent last week, Save the Children said in a statement.
Many said they were fearful and anxious after witnessing wide-ranging horrors including school buses full of friends washed away, their homes submerged and everything they hold dear carried away by the waters, the aid group said.
FOCUS ALSO ON REBUILDING, PM SHAH SAYS
Prime Minister Shah said the government was working to restore power, telecommunications and transport links, with 95% of telecom services in affected areas restored by Tuesday. The disaster has disrupted 431 megawatts of electricity-generating capacity, he said.
“This was one of the major disasters experienced by human civilisation,” Shah said. “As soon as information was received that the flood was approaching, our security personnel were deployed to warn local residents. Some of those personnel themselves went missing.”
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Saurabh Sharma, Sahana Bajracharya, Liz Lee, Ethan Wang, Joe Cash, Shi Bu, Chu Mei Mei, Qiaoyi Li, Francis Mascarenhas, Navesh Chitrakar; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and YP Rajesh; Editing by Saad Sayeed and Ros Russell)
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